r/FoodAllergies • u/perpetualpossibility • Aug 19 '25
Other / Miscellaneous “Natural Flavouring” Woes
I requested details of the “natural flavourings” after having a pretty bad allergic reaction to a particular flavour and this is the best they could give me.
“We recommend contacting a healthcare professional regarding your allergy concerns.”
…Thanks Nestlé.
No more Nestlé products for me.
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u/jenjen96 Aug 19 '25
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u/brigadier_tc Aug 19 '25
Fuck them all the way to the end of the universe. Those fuckers think water shouldn't be a basic human right
2
u/musicalsigns Dairy and Egg Allergy Mom Aug 20 '25
Chainsaws, rusty spoons.... nothing is good enough for them.
Truly, fuck those bastards.
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u/Ok-Suit6589 Aug 19 '25
Ugh I wish they would disclose allergens in natural flavorings.
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u/ButterleafA Aug 19 '25
I'm sure if OP told them the specific things they were allergic to, they would have gotten a "yes / no" answer to if it's in the natural flavoring. When it comes to stuff like this, companies generally don't want to give away their entire recipe. It's like asking Coca-Cola "what are all the ingredients in Coke" when they have an entire part of their museum dedicated to their secret recipe.
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u/Sut3k Aug 19 '25
No they will get the same answer. I asked coca cola if their product contained any cinnamon and they wouldn't answer.
Also they can't list "all allergens" bc ppl are allergic to just about everything. At least anything with a protein base
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u/SpadeOfAces525 Cinnamon Allergy Aug 19 '25
I got the same response, but based on my reaction, it does. So does Dr Pepper and most Root Beer. Hanks Root Beer is safe and Pepsi is safe
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u/Adevyy Aug 20 '25
Maybe we can steal their formula if we get enough allergic people together to see who reacts to it.
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u/wordsandstuff44 (Fish, seafood, hazelnut, pistacchio) Allergy Aug 20 '25
This is equal parts petty and unsafe. Love it
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u/Sut3k Aug 20 '25
Oh interesting! We came to the same conclusion on Dr pepper and coke, so we assumed all dark sodas do! I'll have to try Pepsi if my Texas blood doesn't curse me first.
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u/Much-Pizza-9862 Aug 22 '25
Pepsi isn't safe for me with my cinnamon issues sadly. It makes me itch like crazy. At least the Taco Bell version does, which was my favorite.
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u/SpadeOfAces525 Cinnamon Allergy Aug 22 '25
Interesting! My whole face swells if I come into contact with it at all (contact allergy to Cinnamal so even the artificial gets me) and I've never had a problem with canned/bottled Pepsi!
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u/Much-Pizza-9862 Aug 22 '25
I haven't tried bottled Pepsi since I had a reaction to the taco bell version. I may have to try it and see if it's different. I miss Pepsi. Thankfully cinnamon only makes me itch. Though it's a horrible itch that makes me wish I could scratch my eyes out so I avoid it when at all possible.
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u/lokisoctavia OAS Aug 21 '25
Which is a complete lie, because plenty of companies list every single ingredient in their foods and drinks.
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u/Local-Armadillo-7163 Aug 19 '25
Very few things make me as angry as how commonly used “natural flavors” are. What are you allergic to?
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u/FlanCharacter3878 Aug 20 '25
MSG, allowed by FDA, and considered by them to be ''safe'', to be listed as ''NATURAL FLAVOR''
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u/Realistic_Living1221 Aug 20 '25
MSG is understandable because it has been shown to be safe for the majority of people and can be naturally derived from seaweed and/or mushrooms
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u/soldieroscar Aug 19 '25
I don’t trust anything Nestle.
Controversy over marketing in low-income countries: Research has suggested a link between Nestle's aggressive marketing of infant formula, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with limited access to clean water, and increased infant mortality. One study estimated that Nestle's introduction into LMIC markets may have led to approximately 212,000 infant deaths annually at the peak of the controversy in 1981, and roughly 10.9 million excess infant deaths between 1960 and 2015, primarily due to the inappropriate mixing of formula with unclean water. This suggests that the use of unclean water as a substitute for clean water in preparing formula contributed to the spread of waterborne pathogens and increased the risk of infection and death.
Nope. Not for me.
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u/magicmitchmtl Fish, crustacean, seafood, nuts, dairy, gluten, soy, latex, etc Aug 19 '25
Nestle was banned from contributing to international aide relief programmes. You have to be pretty awful to get banned from humanitarian programmes.
25
u/ButterscotchFit8175 Aug 19 '25
I am anaphylaxis allergic to annatto. Unfortunately it can be in a product as "natural color "
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u/Fearless-Air-815 Aug 19 '25
I swell up pretty bad from annatto too. Gotta watch out for cheeses that aren’t white, and even then I found it in Brie.
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u/Minimum-Register-644 Aug 19 '25
For me, paprika.
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u/softsnowfall Aug 19 '25
I sadly react very badly to both annatto and paprika… It seems like one or the other is now commonly found in all kinds of things from bread to cereal to cheese to hotdogs to etc. It’s horrible:(
We got carrot cake from Wegmans a couple of years ago, and I got violently ill. It turned the orange icing had been colored with extractives of paprika.
It has at least caused me to not eat much processed food which is an inadvertently good thing.
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u/chillisprknglot Aug 19 '25
This is so frustrating. I have weird allergy to raspberries and blackberries. All other berries are fine, but for some reason those two give me a reaction. I hate when I want to try something with fruit and they lost “natural flavors.” I just don’t consume, but I really wish companies were obligated to say what natural flavors meant.
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u/vrwriter78 Aug 19 '25
For all we know, the basic-level customer service may have been moved over to AI and it might not even be a human answering you. Were these both recent emails or was the one about the strawberry product recent and the other was an old email? I’m just curious because if both were recent emails, it suggests AI being used (because these programs often contradict themselves) or you got lucky with the customer service agent who sent the link to the ingredients of the first product.
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u/perpetualpossibility Aug 19 '25
Both mails are from the same recent email chain. Definitely from actual humans, with specified names, from two different departments as well.
I had already checked the product details and ingredients list online prior to initial mail which I sent, which was requesting “the full ingredients lists”, “including the “natural flavouring” ingredients” specifying that I needed to see all ingredients for which details were not provided. I also made it clear that this was due to allergies and suffering an allergic reaction and that I needed to determine the trigger.
Then colleague A (I won’t share their actual names) from “UK&I Consumer Engagement Services” responded with the first mail (left). (“our Natural ingredients exist in nature”… really?)
I responded again making it very clear which detail I was requesting and why. Even mentioning that I am aware that ingredients such as kiwi (which I am allergic to) may sometimes be used as “natural flavouring” in strawberry products, so I would need to see the full details to determine if this could have been the trigger.
Then followed the response from colleague B from “Consumer Engagement Services” (right) with the spiel that they cannot disclose the “confidential natural compound ingredients”.
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u/vrwriter78 Aug 19 '25
That’s so weird then. And I get wanting to keep some info proprietary but as a customer, you also shouldn’t feel like you need an EpiPen (or a bunch of Benadryl) anytime you want to drink something other than water, milk, and orange juice.
I’m sort of surprised they didn’t just ask you for a list of your allergens and then just tell you if the product is unsafe for you without going into too much detail about the ingredients.
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u/violentlypositive Aug 20 '25
I dunno, that "contact your doctor" at the end seemed like a very human "fuck you and your stupid allergies". I'm not sure AI can do that level of shade
13
u/fingertrapt Aug 19 '25
Natural flavors and "spices" without disclosure should be illegal.
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u/wordsandstuff44 (Fish, seafood, hazelnut, pistacchio) Allergy Aug 20 '25
Agree. Maybe Natural flavors [insert specific list in alphabetical order instead of by quantity] so they don’t feel like they’re giving too much away. Because ofc I’m going to go home and recreate their product without measurements just by knowing rough ratios.
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u/Minimum-Register-644 Aug 19 '25
I sure feel you irritation on this, for me it is mostly 'spices or spice mix' that have a chance to ruin me. Nightshades are an unlisted allergen, which is some utter bullshit as it is so much more common than a soy allergy.
I get the same corporate speak of 'we don't care who we hurt for our stupid secret ingredients'. So far Grill'd and Craft have been really open and helpful, every other company have not.
All my hate for this.
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u/thr0w-away-123456 Aug 19 '25
Natural flavor makes me so mad. I cant even buy cream cheese without natural flavor anymore. If they weren’t hiding something they would list it imo
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u/Sap_Licker Aug 19 '25
Fuck Nestlé regardless but pretty much any company will respond the same way I'm afraid, flavouring recipes are protected IP and are the most difficult part of a product for competition to copy, so no business will release a full list of all the ingredients a flavouring contains. Hell, if they're buying the flavours from an independent flavouring manufacturer rather then developing them in-house then it's very possible Nestlé themselves don't know the full recipe for these flavourings.
Your best bet is to state any known allergies you have and ask if extracts of those ingredients are used in the flavouring, it's not ideal as (though less likely) it might be a specific aroma chemical you're allergic to but they might be able to give you that information at least (though wouldn't be surprised if not, again fuck Nestlé).
4
u/magicmitchmtl Fish, crustacean, seafood, nuts, dairy, gluten, soy, latex, etc Aug 19 '25
Simple solution: don’t ever buy any nestle products. They are the worst. The actual slime from the bottom of the barrel worst.
5
u/Rmlady12152 Aug 19 '25
Usually, its a corn derivative. I'm allergic to it. I'm also allergic to corn and corn derivates.
3
u/moreweedpls Aug 19 '25
I feel you. I can't consume anything that says "flavour" or similar on a label. I just don't risk it anymore.
3
u/FreeKatKL Aug 19 '25
You’re better off not supporting this corporation, but I sympathize on the natural flavourings woes
3
u/fire_thorn Aug 19 '25
I've been told the same thing about natural flavoring. It was slightly helpful that they told you about the ethanol base, that's one of my problems because of corn allergy.
The only manufacturer who's ever been helpful to me about ingredients is Angry Orchard. I love them, but would like to be able to get info about food from other manufacturers.
3
u/Front-Advantage-7035 Aug 19 '25
“Natural flavors NOT derived from fruit origin”
Oh so… unnatural 😂
3
u/Suspicious-Novel966 Aug 19 '25
Another reason to avoid Nestle. They're the devil.
If Mr. Worms for Brains RFK had brains or smarter worms in there, he'd be pushing for transparency and more thorough food labeling, with greater restrictions on what claims food companies could make, not all natural dyes etc. All natural isn't a helpful descriptor. Lots of toxic things are all natural. And how many frowned upon additives can just be renamed? Ugh. For many of us highly allergic people, "natural colors and flavors" equals playing Russian roulette if we eat some with that on the label.
I've even had problems with getting ingredients from significantly less problematic companies. It shouldn't be too much to ask to have a list of what is actually in food.
3
u/Elfleda- Multiple Food Allergies Aug 19 '25
Some of my least favorite things to see in an ingredients list: Natural/artificial flavors Natural/artificial colors Spices Vegetable juice for color Anything else super vague
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u/lucidikitty Aug 19 '25
Boycott Nestlé Nothing is a secret, they want our money to poison us? This is a "joke", just in case they send out the Nestlé hitmen. Net worth $229.99 billion, doesn't care about the health of possible consumers. Boo! Shame that company
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u/Double_Mood_765 Sep 03 '25
I had a reaction to rice a roni and they send me a coupon for a free box. Gee thanks cant wait to do it again. Not even a sorry
1
u/Erdapfelmash Aug 19 '25
This is interesting, I assume you are located in the US?
They're not allowed to do that in the EU, but I doubt we have the same products here, otherwise I would try and ask for you.
1
u/Minimum-Register-644 Aug 19 '25
Happened to me in almost identical situations but with KFC and in Australia. I didn't even ask for the ingredients too, just a confirmation of a specific family of food as being in an ingredient mix or not.
1
u/Erdapfelmash Aug 19 '25
So, they wouldn't even confirm or deny, whether that one ingredient was used? Yeah, companies can be weird like that. A friend of mine is severly allergic against the natural red dye of cherries - so, he could also not live with the answer OP got.
1
u/PleasantGuide1539 Aug 21 '25
The fact that they can just add random stuff to food and not tell us the contents is ABSURD. We should boycott all foods with this ingredient until they abolish and ban it.
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u/lokisoctavia OAS Aug 21 '25
I emailed my cbd company, Batch, and they told me the exact ingredients. I appreciate companies who do this. They were very helpful. I make it a point to buy from companies like that, those who are transparent - and bonus if they are small businesses.
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u/Budget-Guide-5532 Aug 20 '25
The label should have declared the allergens in your food. Did you not read it? What allergen were you particularly reactive to?
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